Gideon’s taking for himself many wives was in violation of the paradigm for kingship outlined in Deuteronomy 17:14–20. And to support such a harem and its seventy sons, one must have the resources of a king! Furthermore, Gideon also intermarried with the local population, taking a concubine from Shechem, a Canaanite town (intermarriage was also forbidden). And with that concubine he had a son named Abimelech, which literally means, “My father is king.” It is Gideon’s attempt to establish some sort of dynasty. But an earthly king is not going to solve Israel’s problems. The real problem is that the Israelites ignored God’s true kingship.
30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.